Hit Girls: The Beginning
by Avril Lambert
Summary: Governor Ratcliffe is greedy and will do anything to get more money. He falls victim to his adviser, Jafar's manipulation. Jafar wants Montressor to be run with an iron fist and his strict laws are enforced by the feared sheriff, Shan-Yu. When Jasmine, Meg and Esmeralda think it's the end, a mysterious woman approaches them and tells them she'll pay them to kill Jafar.
1. Chapter 1

**_This is an idea I've had for a while and it's a little bit of an experiment. Please let me know what you think of it. All reviews are welcome._**

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**Year 2065:**

Jasmine stared out her window. From her bedroom she could see the oil drill slowly moving up and down. A little over a year ago her father struck oil on their land, quickly making them the most wealthy family in Montressor.

In the distance, behind the oil drill, she could see the city looming in the horizon. There weren't many other houses near Jasmine's, so there was nothing obstructing her view. The sun was just beginning to set, turning the sky above the city a breathtaking mix of pink and gold. Jasmine smiled at the sight.

It was short-lived, however, when she saw the black town car driving up the street, towards their house. She pushed away from the window and walked out of her room. She found her father sitting in his office going over some paperwork.

"They're coming again," Jasmine told him as she walked passed the room.

As Jasmine made her way to the front door she heard the legs of her dad's chair scrape across the wooden floor as he stood up. She pushed open the screen door and bounded down the porch steps, her work boots clunking against the wood. A couple seconds later, her father came out after her. The car pulled up in front of the house. Jasmine crossed her arms over her chest and glared at the vehicle. The driver got out and hurried to the backseat to open the door. The governor's adviser stepped out of the car. Jafar was a middle-aged man who towered over most other men. He was impossibly skinny and often walked with a staff in the shape of a snake. Jasmine thought the animal was fitting.

Ever since her father struck oil, Governor Ratcliffe had been trying to buy their land from them. Usually he sends Jafar to do his bidding. Mainly because Jafar was more intimidating than he was. Jafar had a dark, intense eyes and long pointed face with a thin, twisted beard. He never smiled and always talked in a flat voice.

As Jafar walked towards them, he kicked up a small dirt cloud that covered his leather shoes and the bottoms of his suit pants in dirt. Jasmine wanted to sneer at him; there were people starving in the city while he and the governor spent their tax dollars on expensive clothes.

"Good evening," Jafar greeted, resting both hands on top of his staff.

"You're wasting your time," Jasmine's father stated.

Jafar ignored him. "The governor has a new offer for you." He reached inside his suit jacket and pulled out a check. He held it out to Jasmine's father.

"We're not interested," Jasmine told him.

Jafar glanced at her, his eyes lingering a little too long on her body. Jasmine was only wearing short denim shorts and a tank top because she had been working outside earlier. She was now wishing she had changed before coming outside.

"Stay out of this, princess. Let the men do business," Jafar said.

Jasmine's father stepped forward. "Tell Governor Ratcliffe that our land is not for sale."

Jafar stared at him for a moment, still holding the check out in front him. "You realize that every time you refuse his offer he raises the taxes on your land?"

"I'm aware."

Jafar started to say something, but was interrupted by the screen door slamming behind them. Jasmine turned around. Her older sister, Tzipporah, stepped onto the porch. She was holding a shot gun.

Tzipporah put her hand on her hip and rested the shot gun against her shoulder. "We told Ratcliffe that we're not interested. Now get off our land and don't ever come back."

Jafar slowly stuck the check back into the inside pocket of his jacket, not taking his eyes off the gun. "You're making a mistake." He now faced their father again. "Governor Ratcliffe _will _get your land one way or another."

Tzipporah cocked the gun and pointed it at Jafar. "Get moving. And I suggest you tell Ratcliffe not to send anymore men to our house."

Jafar turned and walked back to the car. The driver opened the door for him. Before he got in he looked back at them. "This isn't over."

The three of them watched as the car drove away. Once it was gone, their father turned and scowled at Tzipporah.

"What were you thinking?" he demanded.

Tzipporah lowered the gun to her side. "I'm tired of them trying to push us around. This is _our _home; they can't just come here and try to make us leave."

"The governor can do whatever he wants." He stormed up the porch steps and took the gun from her. "_This _isn't helping. If anything, it's only going to make it worse." He went back inside, closing the door behind him.

Tzipporah rolled her eyes as she sat down on the porch steps. "He's such a pushover. It's no wonder Ratcliffe is so confident he's going to get our land. We have to do _something _to make him take us seriously."

Jasmine sat down next to her sister. "Ratcliffe is a greedy man; nothing will stop him from trying to get our land."

Tzipporah shook her head, causing her wild black hair to fall in her face. "You're wrong. _I'm _going to stop him."

Jasmine didn't doubt that her sister would try to stop the governor. Tzipporah had always been feisty and strong and quick to start a fight. She could easily take on anyone and kick their butt. However, this also got her into trouble a lot. She had been arrested for fighting about a half a dozen times. Sometimes their father joked that he was gonna end up spending all of their wealth on bail money for Tzipporah. She never found that joke funny.

"Do you have a plan?" Jasmine asked.

Tzipporah shrugged. "For starters I'd like to hit Jafar with his snake staff." She slammed her fist into her hand. "Bam! Right in the back of that bald head of his."

Jasmine laughed. "I won't stop you."

Tzipporah leaned back on her hands. "As for Ratcliffe... I want to cut off his greedy hands."


	2. Chapter 2

Meg nudged open the door with toe of her high heel. The curtains were pulled closed, only letting in a crack of light from the street light outside. The light shone on the bed, revealing a leg sticking out from under the blanket; a fishnet stocking was rolled halfway down the calf. Meg shifted the clean sheets she was carrying into one hand and then reached over and gently shook the leg. There was a groan and the leg slipped back under the blanket.

"Vanessa!" Meg hissed. "Wake up!"

Another groan. Meg shook her head and walked over to the window. She quickly ripped open the curtain casting a light throughout the room. Vanessa was sprawled out on the bed, her dark brown hair fanned out on the pillow. The blanket was covering the lower half of her body and she was only wearing a black lace bra.

Meg tossed the clean sheets on top of Vanessa. "You have to get up. We open soon and you have to change out the bedding in here."

Vanessa slowly sat up and ran her hand through her hair. "All right. I'm up."

Meg didn't want to see if Vanessa was actually wearing anything underneath the blanket, so she slipped out of the room before Vanessa could get out of bed. When she stepped out into the hallway she ran into their boss, Hades.

"There you are, Nutmeg," he said.

Meg frowned. "We haven't opened yet, you don't have to call me by my alias."

Hades shrugged. "I've been looking for you."

Meg adjusted her corset. "What for?"

"The new girl is here. I need you to show her around and give her a quick run-through of everything."

Meg nodded. "Where is she?"

"Out back."

Meg slipped passed Hades and made her way downstairs. A couple of girls were all ready for the night and were gathered together talking. As Meg walked passed she heard them complaining about the men from the night before and how much they hated the job; the most common topic at the brothel.

Like the other girls, Meg didn't like the job, either. Sleeping with different men every night wasn't exactly glamorous or even respectable. But the pay was great. Governor Ratcliffe was bleeding everyone dry with taxes, so it was beneficial to have a job where she got paid under the table and didn't have to pay taxes. It helped that Governor Ratcliffe didn't even know about Underworld. The building was a small, plain, brick building that looked like every other building in the area. They never drew any attention to themselves and all of their clients were too ashamed to tell anyone.

Meg pushed open the heavy metal door that led out to the alley. The only one outside was a young girl, no older than sixteen or seventeen. Meg glanced up at the upstairs window, where she had left Hades. He always sore he never hired a girl under eighteen, so what was with this young girl?

Meg looked back at the girl. She was already dressed in a dark blue corset and matching mini skirt. Garter straps hung from her skirt, but she wasn't wearing any stockings. She was staring at the ground, twirling her red hair around her finger.

"Are you Ariel?" Meg asked.

The girl looked up. She had bright blue eyes and they were wide and anxious. When she saw Meg she relaxed a little bit and nodded.

Meg leaned up against the wall next to her. "Are you nervous? Scared?" Ariel nodded. "The first couple nights are the hardest, but it gets easier. And it's perfectly safe; Hades monitors everyone who comes in."

Ariel looked down at the ground again and didn't say anything.

Meg pushed off the wall. "Come inside; I'll show you your room."

Ariel followed silently behind Meg. They went upstairs to the room next door to Meg's room. Meg turned the doorknob and pushed it open.

"This is it," Meg told her.

Ariel stepped inside and looked around. She was stiff an uncomfortable and Meg couldn't help feeling sorry for her. No one came to work here unless they felt like they had no other choice. Meg wondered what Ariel's story was.

Meg sat down on the bed and motioned for Ariel to sit next to her. Ariel hesitantly joined her.

"I came here a couple years ago," Meg told her. "My mom owns an Inn, The Benbow Inn; I worked there with her, my younger sister, Jane, and my younger brother, Jim. My dad is a police officer. When Ratcliffe became governor, my dad had to start working more and was never home. My mom was struggling with the Inn and we were losing money. I ran away from home and came to work here so I could make more money. I send some home, but they don't know where I am." Meg paused. "Well, my brother does."

Ariel just looked up at her.

Meg took a deep breath and let it out. "What brought you here?"

"Five minutes, girls!" Hades announced from the hallway.

Meg stood up. "Here we go," she said, pulling her hair up into a ponytail.

Ariel suddenly looked horrified.

Meg gave her a reassuring smile. "Tell you what: if it gets too much, knock on the wall three times. It'll be all right."

x-X-x

Meg was with her first client. They were sitting on the bed while he kissed her neck when she heard three timid knocks on the other side of the wall. Meg carefully pushed the guy away from her.

"I have to go. I'll be right back," she told him.

Before he could react, Meg left. Ariel was pacing outside her room. Meg led her back out to the alley. As soon as they were outside, Ariel started crying. Meg pulled her into a hug. It was a strange feeling; it was the same thing she used to do when she would comfort her sister, Jane.

Meg ran her hand over Ariel's hair. "You don't belong here, Ariel; go home."

"I can't," Ariel whispered.


	3. Chapter 3

Esmeralda twirled and moved to the rhythm of the song coming from her iPod speakers. As she swayed her hips her skirt swished back and forth. It was her favorite skirt to dance in; mainly because it was more of a loin cloth style and it attracted the attention of the men walking passed. Each one paused a moment to watch Esmeralda dance and then dropped some money into the baseball cap she had set on the ground in front of her. Esmeralda smiled a thank you at each person who tipped her. It was mostly men and a couple of masculine-looking lesbians, but money was money and she didn't care where it came from; she thanked each one of them politely.

A siren rang out from the street and a few moments later a police car pulled up in front of Esmeralda. She stopped dancing and eyed the man coming out of the driver side. He was a beefy man with a buzz cut and dark sunglasses; despite the sun setting almost two hours ago. The small crowd that had gathered to watch Esmeralda quickly dispersed, though Esmeralda didn't know why since no one was doing anything illegal.

The cop adjusted his belt as he walked over to Esmeralda. It was dark outside so the red and blue lights from his car were almost blinding. Esmeralda lowered her eyes.

"Is something wrong?" Esmeralda asked.

Before the cop could respond, another car pulled up behind his. This car was a rather new gray BMW. Esmeralda recognized it immediately and groaned to herself. The cop turned to face the car as a muscular man stepped out of the car. His black and gray hair was slicked back and he was wearing a gray suit with a red tie. Clayton was the tax collector for the city; the most dreaded face anyone could ever see. Esmeralda knew exactly why he was here and she couldn't help glancing down at the hat with her money in it. Clayton noticed the hat, too, and bent over to pick it up. Esmeralda started towards him, but the cop grabbed her.

"Let go of me! That's _my _money," Esmeralda demanded.

Clayton gave her a smug smile and shook his head. "You know the law, missy; all income must me taxed." He scooped out three-quarters of the money from the hat, then set the hat back on the ground.

"That's not fair!" Esmeralda cried. "I _earned_ that money."

"Your city thanks you."

"You mean your wallet thanks me. I know our taxes helped pay for that suit your wearing and your fancy car."

Clayton shrugged. "The law is the law; pay or be arrested."

Esmeralda glanced up at the cop, but didn't say anything else.

"Good girl," Clayton said. His eyes lowered to her skirt. "Now, I suggest you put on some clothes before you're arrested for public indecency." He got back in his car and sped off.

The cop let Esmeralda go, then got into his car and slowly pulled away. Esmeralda sighed as she turned off her music. She dropped her iPod into the now almost empty baseball cap, and then pulled on a pair of black leggings under her skirt. She picked up the hat and slowly started walking home.

Esmeralda and her brother, Aladdin, lived with their mother in a small apartment. Though they were both in the early twenties, neither of them could afford to live on their own. They shared an apartment for a while, but when their mother got sick, they moved back into the apartment they grew up in to take care of their mom. Eventually they both got laid off, like most people after Ratcliffe became governor and started taking everyone's money. Esmeralda was always looking for another job, but it had already been a couple months and she was having no luck. That was why she resorted to dancing in the streets to earn money. It was never enough, though; even on the nights when she didn't get busted by Clayton. Aladdin had given up on finding a job and start stealing food for them. He had never gotten caught, but Esmeralda couldn't help worrying about him. He was a year younger than she was and with their mother being as ill as she was, it fell on Esmeralda to look after him.

Esmeralda took the elevator up to their floor and walked down to their apartment. She unlocked the door and made her way inside. Her mother was sitting at the kitchen table, staring at the newspaper. Esmeralda set the hat down on the table and then sat down next to her mom.

"I'm making dinner," her mom said, not looking up.

Esmeralda glanced over at the stove. A small pot was sitting on it, but there was nothing in it and the stove was off.

"I'm making spaghetti," her mom told her. "It should be done any minute now."

"I look forward to it." Esmeralda stood up and walked over to the stove. She filled the pot with water, then turned on the stove. She listened to her mom rifling through the newspaper as she pulled out a box of noodles and a jar of spaghetti sauce out of the cabinet.

"Do you remember when I used to make spaghetti for you and your brother, Emma?" her mom asked.

Esmeralda's heart felt heavy and a lump formed in her throat. Her mom was in her fifties but had already been affected by Alzheimer's disease. It was still in the early stages, but it was rapidly getting worse. They didn't have any medical insurance and no money to get her help. Esmeralda felt completely useless as she watched her mother fade away. Every once in a while, she'll have a good day where she remembers most things, but those days were becoming more and more rare. She still had some of her old memories from when she was younger, but she was starting to forget Esmeralda and Aladdin. She knew they were her kids, but sometimes it was like she didn't recognize them and she had long forgotten their names. This week she was calling them Emma and Alan. Last week it was Emily and Aaron.

When dinner was done, Esmeralda scooped it onto a couple of plates and brought them to the table.

Her mom smiled at her. "I told you I made dinner. Just like I used to. Remember all those nights when I'd make dinner for you and Alan? I do. The memories I have of those nights are my favorite. I remember them so clearly. I think my memory is getting better, Emma."

Esmeralda gave her mom a sad smile. She couldn't bring herself to tell her that her name was Esmeralda and that she had never cooked for her and Aladdin a night in her life.


	4. Chapter 4

Jim pushed open the back door of the Benbow Inn as the delivery truck pulled up. The driver's door flung open and the delivery girl, Kayley, jumped down. Kayley and her mother owned a farm a few miles outside of the city and Jim's mother only ordered her produce and eggs from them. Kayley was eighteen, the same age as Jim, and the two of them have been best friends since his mother became their client ten years ago.

"Right on time," Jim told her.

"Always." Kayley unlocked the hatch of the truck and slid it open.

There were several crates of various vegetables stacked in the back of the truck. Kayley pulled out the loading ramp then hoisted herself up into the truck. Jim followed her and helped her load a few of the crates onto the Dolley. As Kayley wheeled the Dolley down and the ramp, Jim pick up a couple of crates and made his way after her. It was still early, so the kitchen workers had arrived yet. The kitchen was empty, with the exception of Jim and Kayley.

"How's your family doing?" Kayley asked him as they stacked their crates in the large cooler.

"All things considered, we're holdin' up all right."

Kayley leaned against the Dolley. "Have you heard from Meg?"

Jim hesitated for a moment. As far as everyone else knew, Meg ran away from home and disappeared. Jim was the only one who knew she was only several blocks away at the hidden brothel, Underworld. Their mother was constantly worrying about her, but Meg had left over a year ago and their mom was starting to accept the fact that they would probably never see her again. Every once in a while Meg would send them a check and as long as the checks kept coming regularly, Sarah knew her daughter was okay. But that was all she knew.

Jim on the other hand didn't think Meg was okay. Meg had originally thought she would only work for Hades for a couple months, just to earn a little bit of extra money. She had promised Jim she would come home, but so far Jim hadn't heard anything from her and hadn't seen her. Sometimes he thought about going to see her, but he knew it was too risky.

"No, I haven't," Jim finally replied.

"My mom says that she's sending you guys money from wherever she is," Kayley said as they walked back out to the truck.

"She is."

Kayley nodded and they loaded up the Dolley with more crates. There was only one crate left and Jim carried it down the ramp after Kayley. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed two women standing outside a small shack of a house. One of them was holding a bag out in front of her like it was a snake.

"Rogue has done it again," the woman with the bag said.

Rogue was a known Robin Hood type of vigilante; stealing money from Governor Ratcliffe and the tax collector, Clayton, and giving the money to the people who were struggling. But every time Rogue struck, Ratcliffe raised the taxes on every household to make up for the money he lost. The next time Rogue struck, however, he just stole even more money to make up for it. It was an endless circle that caused half of the city's people to hate the vigilante and the other half to be grateful to him. But no one knew his true identity.

The other woman eyed the bag of money, almost enviously. "You're lucky."

"_Lucky? _Because of him, we're all going to have to pay more to that greedy governor."

"Are you going to keep it?"

"Of course not." The woman dropped the bag on the ground. "I don't want his dirty money." She went back inside, slamming the door behind her.

The other woman immediately bent over and picked up the bag. She glanced back at the door, then turned and hurried away.

x-X-x

Esmeralda was washing the breakfast dishes when Aladdin burst into the apartment. He came into the kitchen and set a bag of money on the counter beside the sink.

Esmeralda glanced down at it and frowned. "Where did that come from?"

"Rogue."

Esmeralda nearly dropped the plate she was washing. "He did it again? When is he going to stop this?"

"Stop what? Helping people?"

"He's not helping anyone. He's just pissing off Governor Ratcliffe and giving the rest of us more trouble."

Aladdin ignored her. "Where's mom?"

"In the shower."

"How is she today?"

Esmeralda sighed and handed Aladdin the plate. He grabbed a towel and started drying it. "The same."

"I counted the money Rogue gave us; it's enough to put mom in a home where they can help her. At least for a couple months."

Esmeralda shook her head. "No way, Aladdin. We're not using that money."

"Why not?"

Esmeralda rested her hands on the edge of the sink and stared into the soapy water. "Have you ever considered that maybe Rogue is working for Ratcliffe?"

"What do you mean?"

"Maybe this whole hero/vigilante thing is just a ploy for Ratcliffe to get more money from us. Ratcliffe could be monitoring that money and plan on using it against us later."

"How?"

"By putting us in debt to him, we now owe him."

"I didn't think about that."

Esmeralda gave Aladdin a sympathetic look. "Of course you didn't. You always want to believe that everyone has the best intentions. But sometimes people are just cruel, Aladdin."

"Not all people." Aladdin picked up the money. "Some people are just trying to help in the only way they can."

Esmeralda went back to washing the dishes. "We're not keeping the money, Aladdin. We're gonna turn it in like we're supposed to. We're not gonna risk owing the governor anything."

"What if you're wrong?"

"Either way, it's too big of a risk."

"We're all gonna get taxed for it anyway, why not just keep it? This money might be able to help mom." Aladdin paused. "We're losing her, Es."

Esmeralda let out a frustrated growl and slammed the bowl she had been cleaning back into the sink. It shattered, cutting her finger. She swore under her breath. Aladdin handed her the towel he had been using to dry the dishes. "I have to look out for this family; and that means not taking stolen money that could get us all in trouble. Turn the money in, Aladdin. I'm not going to tell you again." She pressed the towel over her cut and started walking out of the kitchen.

"Stop trying to replace mom," Aladdin muttered. "She's not gone, yet."


	5. Chapter 5

The sound was barely audible and at first Jasmine questioned whether or not she actually heard it. She slowed the riding lawn mower to a stop and turned it off. She flinched as the music from her headphones suddenly became louder without the noise of the lawn mower. She quickly pulled the ear buds out of her ears.

Silence.

Then a crash. It was loud; as if something had gone through a large window. Jasmine was almost positive it was the same noise she had heard earlier. She jumped off the lawn mower, stumbling slightly but then running towards the house. Her father was in the city for the day, so only Tzipporah was in the house. Jasmine's first thought was that Jafar had come back and Tzipporah was starting trouble with him.

Jasmine was just pulling open the back door when she heard shouting coming from upstairs. She recognized the voice immediately as Tzipporah's. But who was she yelling at? They very rarely got visitors; with the exception of Jafar and there was no way Tzipporah would let him anywhere near the inside of their house.

Jasmine darted towards the stairs. She was halfway up when she heard a gun shot. The deafening noise halted Jasmine. Her heart thumped rapidly and she gripped the railing tightly. Fear froze her in place as silence filled the house. A few beats passed before she heard scrambling. Jasmine tried to calm her heavy breathing as she quietly continued to make her way upstairs. Every instinct told her to run outside and call for help, but she had to check on Tzipporah.

"Get back here, you rat bastard!" Tzipporah shouted.

Jasmine sighed in relief to hear her sister's voice. It sounded like it was coming from the hallway outside of Jasmine's bedroom. She hurried the rest of the way. As she turned the corner, she crashed hard into someone running from the opposite direction. They both tumbled to the ground. Jasmine landed on top of the person.

"Don't move," Tzipporah demanded.

Jasmine wasn't sure who she was talking to, so she stayed put. She looked down to see a young man her own age pinned beneath her. He was gorgeous with thick black hair, tan skin, big brown eyes and muscular arms. If he wanted he could have easily shoved Jasmine off of him, but he just looked stunned and almost afraid. Beside him was a sack, though Jasmine couldn't tell what was in it. Tzipporah pointed her rifle at him as she picked up the sack. She glanced inside, then turned her attention back the man.

"Please don't shoot me." His voice was surprisingly calm despite the look on his face and the situation he was in.

"Why not?" Tzipporah growled. "Did you really think you could break into our house, steal from us and get away with it?"

The man wiggled underneath Jasmine, but she leaned forward and pressed her hands against his chest to keep him down. His pecks were hard and sculpted and momentarily distracted her.

The man gave up trying to wiggle free. "Please. My sister and I have been out of work for months and we're trying to take care of our mother." He turned his pleading gaze towards Jasmine. "She was diagnosed with Alzheimer's and we can't afford to get her help."

A small part of Jasmine doubted his story, but a bigger part of her felt sympathy and pity for him. If he was telling the truth, he certainly needed the money more than they did.

Jasmine slowly stood up. Both the man and Tzipporah gaped at her. Tzipporah quickly regained composure and pointed the gun at him again.

"Don't you dare get up."

"Calm down, Tzipporah," Jasmine said, holding out her hand to the man. He made no attempt to move.

"Wise man," Tzipporah muttered.

Jasmine shook her head. "Don't be afraid; we're not going to hurt you."

Tzipporah snorted. "Speak for yourself."

Jasmine ignored her sister. "What's your name?"

"Aladdin," he replied, not taking his eyes off the rifle.

Jasmine offered her hand to him again. "I'm Jasmine and this is my sister, Tzipporah."

Tzipporah stared hard at Jasmine for a moment, but finally rolled her eyes and lowered her gun. She dropped the sack on the floor with a _clank_. "It's all stuff from your room, Jaz."

"I'm sorry," Aladdin told her. "It was the easiest room to sneak into."

Jasmine nodded. She knew that; it was also the easiest room to sneak _out _of. She rummaged through the sack, but there didn't seem to be anything of real importance in it. She picked up the sack and turned around. Aladdin was now standing, but remained tense. His gaze kept falling on Tzipporah's rifle. She noticed this and gave him a smug smile. None of them had any doubt that she would use it if she got the opportunity.

Jasmine held the sack out to Aladdin. "Take it. You need it more than we do."

"Are you _serious_?" Tzipporah practically shrieked.

Jasmine glanced at her sister. "I'm serious. It's not like we're in danger of going broke. We can do a good thing here by helping Aladdin and his mother."

"_If _he's telling the truth, you mean," Tzipporah spat.

Jasmine shrugged and turned back to Aladdin. "They're _my_ belongings and I don't feel like it's a loss. Take them, Aladdin, and get your mom some help."

Aladdin hesitantly took the sack. "Thank you."

Jasmine smiled at him, but before she could say anything Tzipporah stepped between them.

Tzipporah was a good few inches taller than Aladdin and she stared down at him. "You've taken enough advantage of our hospitality. Now, get out of here before I pull the trigger."

Aladdin turned and quickly ran downstairs. Jasmine crossed her arms over her chest and raised an eyebrow at her sister.

"What?" Tzipporah asked, innocently.

"Were you really going to shoot him?"

"Well, yeah; he's an intruder."

Jasmine shook her head. "You're unbelievable."

"_I'm _unbelievable? _You're _the one who just let a criminal get away with stealing from us."

"I felt bad for him."

A small smile formed at the corner of Tzipporah's lips. "You always _did_ have a thing for tortured bad boys."

Jasmine blushed. "What are you talking about?"

Now Tzipporah laughed. "You know _exactly _what I'm talking about. You let him go because you thought he was hot."

"That's not true."

"You're lying." Tzipporah pointed at her with the gun. "Just admit it."

Jasmine couldn't help smiling. "Fine. I admit it; I was attracted to Aladdin."

"I knew it."

Jasmine sighed. "That's because you know me better than anyone."


	6. Chapter 6

The girls at Underworld were kept busy. Meg didn't get a chance to talk to Ariel again 'till a couple nights later. When Meg had break between clients, she made her way to the back alley where Ariel often hung out. Ariel was leaning against the wall and staring down at her D-Comm screen.

Direct Communicators had replaced cell phones a couple years ago. All calls were now videos and everything was done with verbal commands. D-Comms came in different styles; watches/bracelets, sunglasses with ear pieces, keychains, tablets the size of cellphones...

Ariel had a tablet and as far as Meg could see the screen was blank. Ariel didn't seem to notice her approach, she just continued to stare at the empty screen.

"What's going on?" Meg asked.

Ariel looked up at her. Her red hair was a mess, but her makeup was still perfect. "Nothing."

Meg nodded at her D-Comm. "Waiting for a call?"

"No. I was thinking about making one."

"So... Why haven't you?"

Ariel sighed and lowered the D-Comm to her side. "I don't think he wants to talk to me." She leaned her head back against the wall. "Actually, I _know _he doesn't."

"Who?"

"Eric." Her voice was dreamy, but with a touch of sadness.

Meg gave her a playful smile. "Is Eric your boyfriend?"

Ariel almost laughed, but held it back. "I wish."

Meg thought Ariel would continue, but she didn't. "What's the story with Eric?"

Ariel kept her eyes forward, locked on the wall across the alley from them. "It's actually the story of why I'm here. I used to live with my father and sisters in a town kinda far from here. My dad is crazy protective of me and never let me go very far alone. But one day my friends, Rapunzel and Belle, and I decided we were sick of being stuck in the boring small town and wanted to go on an adventure. So I borrowed my dad's car and we just started driving. After a while we ended up here. None of us had ever been to the city before and were kind of excited. I met Eric on the docks. He owns a boat. We started talking and I totally fell for him. I thought he liked me, too. But I didn't get a chance to find out for sure. The police showed up saying my dad had reported the car stolen and we were forced to go back home. I got into a huge fight with my dad that night and he grounded me. I was so angry at him for what he did, that I ran away. I took all the money I had and came back here to find Eric. I don't know what I was thinking; perhaps that I could just show up out of the blue and he'd want to be with me and it would just work itself out and solve everything."

"So, what happened?" Meg asked.

Ariel took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "I found Eric, but he wasn't exactly happy to see me. It turns out he has a girlfriend and he was just being polite when we met."

"I'm sorry, Ariel."

Ariel nodded. "I didn't think I could go back home after what happened with my dad before I left, so I stayed here. I spent all of my money at the Inn while I tried to find a job. But I had no luck and eventually had to leave the Inn when I ran out of money. That's how I ended up here."

"You can go home, Ariel. Your dad is probably more worried than angry at this point."

Now Ariel looked at Meg. "I don't know if I _want _to go back. If I go home, then I'm gonna be stuck in that small town forever."

"It's better than having sex for money."

Ariel frowned. "Neither are ideal, but at least I'm a step closer here. Going home would be, like, three steps backwards."

"Sinners!" The sudden angry voice startled Meg and Ariel.

The girls turned to see an older man standing a few yards away from them. He was tall and skinny with white hair and a big nose. He was wearing a cheap suit and clutching a thick, black book. His eyes roamed over Meg and Ariel's bodies. Ariel was clearly uncomfortable.

Meg cleared her throat. "Excuse me?"

"Soliciting sex for money is a sin," the man said.

"Then why are you here?" Meg asked. "Any man who comes to Underworld is looking for exactly what we're selling."

The man's face became angry. "I was just taking a short cut down this alley. But I came across two demon temptresses trying to lure in men."

"We were just talking," Ariel said meekly. "We weren't trying to lure anyone."

The man stuck his nose up in the air. "God will punish you for your sins."

"What do you know of God?" Meg demanded. Every once in a while some religious nut would find out about them and try to "save" the girls by throwing their God at them.

"I am a minister," he replied. "And I will see to it that this place is shut down."

With that the man stormed passed the girls and continued on his way. Meg rolled her eyes.

"He seemed serious," Ariel muttered.

Meg shook her head. "People like that are all talk."

Ariel glanced in the direction the man had gone. "If Underworld closes, I don't have anywhere else to go."

Meg put a comforting hand on Ariel's shoulder. "It's going to be all right. But, worst case scenario, you can still go home. Running away is never the answer, Ariel, and eventually you're gonna have to face your dad."

Ariel stared at her. "You ran away from home."

"To help my family. I didn't tell them where I was going to spare them the humiliation. I'm not running away from my problem; I'm trying to fix it."


	7. Chapter 7

Esmeralda fumbled with her groceries and keys as she approached the apartment. She was just about to stick the key in the lock when she heard a loud crash come from inside. She quickly unlocked the door and burst inside. She found Aladdin in the kitchen surrounded by all the pots and pans lying on the floor.

"What happened?" Esmeralda asked, setting the groceries on the table.

"I'm trying to make dinner," Aladdin muttered. "Mom is convinced she's cooking lasagna."

Esmeralda glanced over at their mom's closed bedroom door. She was still convinced she cooked dinner for them all the time, but still had never actually cooked anything. She also still insisted her memory was getting better. It was sad watching their mother get worse and it was taking its toll on both of them. The last couple days they had been on edge. They snapped at each other for no reason and got into stupid fights; just to release some of their frustration. Aladdin kept the money from Rogue and they always blamed that as the reason they were so tense, but they both knew it was their mother. It was hard taking care of her when they could barely take care of themselves. It also made them sad to listen to the fantasies their mother invented as her "memories". She talked of times when Esmeralda and Aladdin were younger and how the family lived happily in a small house in the suburbs. When in reality they always lived in that very apartment and were never happy.

The worst was when she talked about their father. In their mother's mind, he never left them. The four of them lived as one big happy family. In reality he left right after Aladdin was born and never looked back. No one knew where he was now, nor did they care.

Esmeralda looked back at Aladdin as he started picking up the pots. "You don't have to do that."

"What do you mean?" Aladdin asked, not looking up from the mess.

"She probably doesn't even remember that she said anything about dinner." Esmeralda stepped around him as she began putting the groceries away. "I'll make something easy for us in a little bit."

"I can do it."

Esmeralda chuckled. "Aladdin, you have about the same cooking experience as mom."

It was the wrong thing to say. Esmeralda meant it as a joke, but it struck a nerve. Aladdin was trying so hard to convince himself that what their mom was "remembering" was true so this whole situation wouldn't be so sad. More than that, he _wanted _the fantasies to be real. He grew up never knowing his father and never having a real family. Before she got sick, their mother was a workaholic and barely spent anytime with them. Now Aladdin had the chance to spend time with at least one parent and get lost in this fantasy world where everything was perfect.

But nothing was perfect.

Just like that, Esmeralda no longer felt guilty for what she said. "Aladdin, you have to get out of her head. None of what she's saying is real. This"- she motioned around her at the run-down kitchen- "is real. We basically grew up without our parents being around. We had to take care of ourselves most of our lives. I know our lives suck, but this is reality and you need to face it. Mom is _sick _and we need to figure out a way to take care of her and ourselves."

Aladdin set a pan on the stove and stared at it. "I know that, Es. But right now mom is happy and I want to keep her that way."

Esmeralda couldn't ignore the distance in Aladdin's voice. Something was wrong. "Aladdin, what aren't you telling me?"

"Nothing. I just-"

Esmeralda grabbed his arm and spun him around so he was facing her. His eyes were brimmed with tears and his cheeks were slightly puffy as if he had been crying. "Aladdin..."

"I used the money Rogue gave us and took mom to the doctor today."

"What did they say?"

Aladdin lowered his head. He tried to say something, but he couldn't find his voice. Esmeralda's stomach tightened. She had never see Aladdin so sad before. Something was seriously wrong.

"Aladdin, please tell me," Esmeralda pleaded quietly.

Aladdin glanced over Esmeralda's shoulder, then looked directly in her eyes. "Mom has a brain tumor."

Esmeralda involuntarily gripped Aladdin tighter. "H-how... how bad is it?"

"Bad. She's had it for a while and it's spreading. Even with surgery and treatment of the tumor itself, it won't do much good."

Esmeralda slowly stepped back. "How long does she have...left?" She could barely finish the question.

"A couple months with treatment. Less without..."

"We can't afford treatment," Esmeralda whispered.

"That's why I'm playing along with her, Essie. I want her to be happy in what little time she has left."

"Does she know?"

Aladdin raised an eyebrow at her. "She doesn't even know who _we _are."

"But, did you tell her?"

Aladdin shook his head and lowered his eyes. "I couldn't."

"You _have _to."

"Why? So she can be miserable and afraid?"

"She deserves to know the truth."

"I'm not going to tell her."

"Then I'm going to tell her." Esmeralda started to go towards their mom's room, but Aladdin stopped her.

"Don't. We're not going to tell her anything. Let her finally live happily. When she's gone she'll finally be at peace and she won't need to know anything."

"No. It isn't fair to her."

Esmeralda pushed against Aladdin, trying to get him out of the way, but he was stronger than her. He shoved her backwards, then turned and headed to their mom's room. Esmeralda glared after him. He closed the door behind him and she was left alone in the kitchen.


End file.
